Inside These Walls
by Gazlover12-Canada
Summary: Despite what everyone is saying, Arthur knows he isn't crazy, his friends are real! Apparently his brothers don't agree, and he's sent to Hetalia Psychiatric Hospital. Now not only is he surrounded by insane people, but he also has to deal with a loud and annoying American doctor. UsUk Mental Hospital AU!
1. Chapter 1

**Yes I know, another new story. Allow me to explain though! I finished a test early, and I just started writing this down on paper. I really got into it, and thus it turned into the start of a new story. I'll still be working on my other stuff too though, so don't worry. Hopefully this isn't too bad. See, I've always wanted to do a Doctor/America and Patient/England fic set in a mental hospital. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 1  
**

**The New Patient:  
**

Arthur sits on the couch with his knees drawn up to his chest. He keeps his eyes downcast, avoiding everyone else inside the room. The people here are unsettling, with their maniacal smiles and insane actions. He briefly wonders why they put him in this ward out of all the other ones. He wasn't a harm to himself, no matter what anybody else said. Nothing he did should be considered dangerous. Apparently the doctors didn't agree with him, or why else would he be stuck here, against his will?

Just a few days ago everything was normal. He'd been living in his small comfortable apartment. He'd been working his job as an editor. Nothing was even remotely wrong. Maybe he should have seen this coming though, now that he thought about it. Over the past few months people had started questioning him. _Why do you talk to thin air? Who on earth is flying mint bunny? Have you gone nutters?_ These were the questions that a lot of people started asking him. His coworkers always gave him odd looks, much like everyday strangers did.

Of course Arthur scoffed at them. Flying Mint Bunny was indeed very real, much like his other friends, like the fairies and the elves. So what if they couldn't see them? They weren't special like he was.

People weren't satisfied with his answers, his brothers in particular. Seamus had tried to convince him to talk to a bloody psychiatrist! Of course that made Arthur angry. He wasn't loony, he wasn't irrational, he wasn't_ insane_. Luckily they had left him alone for a little while after that. Unfortunately though, the luck didn't stay with him. One day his oldest brother Allister had walked in on him at the wrong moment. He'd had a knife against his wrist, already having sliced his arm multiple times. It wasn't because he was messed up! Flying Mint Bunny had said that he'd had black blood inside him, and it had to come out. He was only saving himself!

Nobody believed him after that. His brothers didn't _listen_. They'd pretended to be concerned. They had sat him down and tried to act all mature, telling him that he was a danger to himself! They didn't like Flying Mint Bunny. They didn't like the fairies. They thought Arthur was messed up in the head!

So now he was here.

They had tricked him. Seamus said that they were going to see a film. They'd got in the car and started driving. Arthur should have known though. Seamus didn't drive to the theater. Arthur had asked why he didn't take the right turn, but Seamus didn't answer. They drove for quite sometime, and Arthur was scared. Then he saw a building up ahead, guarded by brick walls and a fancy iron gate. Then Arthur read the sign. **Hetalia Psychiatric Hospital**. That was when things turned into hell.

Allister and his other brother Dylan had met them in the parking lot. They had apparently packed a suitcase of his clothes. Finally Arthur had realized it. They were leaving him here.

Oh he had cried. He'd pleaded with them. _Please don't leave me here! I'm not insane!_ They'd smiled sadly at him and gently forced him through the doors.

That was only a few hours ago.

Now back to the present, he was still sitting on the couch. This was supposedly the 'lounge', or 'hangout area'. Nobody was really hanging out. A few orderlies were standing by the door. A short Japanese patient was sitting at a table with another patient who was drawing a picture of a cat. Then there was another patient, who was pleading with an orderly for his gun. He must have been from Switzerland, Arthur guessed, judging by his accent. Lastly, there was a large and intimidating patient with purple eyes and ash blonde hair. He was smiling sweetly and singing a song about sunflowers.

This was the long term ward. Were these really the people that Arthur was going to be forced to stay with? He shifted uncomfortably and swallowed, feeling a lump forming in his throat. None of this was right. He was fine! He wasn't a danger to himself!

Suddenly he heard voices nearby. It sounded like a doctor talking to a nurse. They were probably talking about _him_. As the realization came to him, he only curled into himself further, refusing to look up. He stared intently into the gray tiled floor. He ignored the sound of footsteps coming closer, and tried to will himself to disappear. Unfortunately it didn't work. His view of the floor was replaced by a pair of sneakers and tan colored slacks.

"Hey there, you must be Arthur, right?"

Arthur swallows again, and slowly wills himself to raise his head and study the person who was talking to him, in an American accent nonetheless. He was obviously a doctor, judging from the long white coat he wore over a dress shirt and tie. His face looks so youthful, and for a moment Arthur was a little disbelieving that this man was a doctor. He was grinning down at Arthur, bright and shining sky blue eyes covered with a pair of square shaped glasses.

Upon seeing Arthur looking up at him, the doctor's grin grew. "I'm Dr. Jones, your new psychiatrist. You don't gotta call me that though. Just stick with calling me Alfred."

Arthur didn't respond verbally, but he nodded his head to show that he understood. He was still feeling incredibly uncomfortable, trying to hold back the instinct to bolt towards the doors and try to escape. The doctor, Alfred, must have sensed that he was nervous, for his grin turned into a genuine smile and he patted Arthur's shoulder.

"You don't need to be nervous here, okay? Were only here to help you out, and there's nothing wrong with getting a bit of help. For starters, how about we head to my office? I just got this brand new desk, you have to check it out!"

Arthur, in complete dismay, finds himself standing from the couch. An office sounds much better than this terrible room, with all of these terrible people. Dr. Jones sounds so _unprofessional_ though! How could some dolt like him even be a doctor? Then again, who is Arthur to make judgements in such a place? Here he is a patient, which means that he wont be listened to. Dr. Jones may be acting all nice and cheerful now, but Arthur was sure that he'd turn into the usual normal kind of evil doctor.

They walk through the room. Before they reach the door however, the large intimidating patient starts waving frantically.

"Dr. Jones, Dr. Jones, Alfred!" He calls out with a thick Russian accent.

Alfred stops in his tracks and faces the Russian man with another cheerful grin. "Hey there big guy! How 'ya doing today? Ready for some group therapy later today?" He asked.

"Da!" the Russian says, and then starts giggling. "My name isn't 'Big Guy', it's Ivan! Oh, will we get to have craft time today? I want to make a paper sunflower!"

"Sorry bud, but craft time isn't till tomorrow. Hey, I gotta go now okay? I have a session with Artie here." Alfred told his other patient. Arthur grit his teeth at the horrible nickname. but followed his new doctor as they started walking towards the exit again. The orderlies nod to Alfred and open the doors for him without a second thought.

The hallways are so _empty_, save for the doors to all of the patient's rooms. Arthur had only been in his room briefly. Luckily in this place everyone got their own room. According to his brother, this was the 'best hospital around'. Well fuck his brother, fuck all of them! They sent him here, they sent him into this hell! There were more patients besides the ones in the lounge as well. A group therapy session was being held in the gardens apparently, so the ones in the lounge were only about half the number of patients that there were.

"Here we are," Alfred muttered, and Arthur realized that they had stopped at a door a few halls away from the patient's rooms. After Alfred unlocked the door, Arthur was greeted by a mixed smell of hamburgers and coffee beans. The room looked...oddly comfortable. There was a brand new polished wooden desk that was covered with files, papers, and a laptop. There were two couches with a coffee table in between them.

"Have a seat!" Alfred said, gesturing towards the couches. After standing for a few seconds, Arthur finally took a deep breath and made his was towards one of them. Alfred sat directly across from him, and so Arthur drew his knees up and wrapped his arms tightly around them. There was a silence, and Arthur felt the doctors gaze boring into him.

"So can you not speak, or are you just a little shy? My brother's really shy, but he's doing a lot better with it."

"I can speak," Arthur replied softly, playing with a loose string on his sweatpants (The nurse had made him dress in grey sweats and a t-shirt). Alfred's eyes brightened.

"Awesome! But how come your being so quiet? Is it scary living in a new place? I'd be scared too. Don't worry though, everyone is very nice here."

"I shouldn't be here," Arthur spoke again, feeling the lump come back in his throat again.

"Why don't we talk about that huh? So your brothers took you here, right?" Alfred asked.

Arthur nodded.

"But you didn't want to come here, did you?"

Arthur shook his head.

"I figured so," Alfred said sympathetically. "Nobody really chooses to come here willingly. I don't see why though, this place isn't so bad! Otherwise I wouldn't work here."

"But I'm not crazy..." Arthur mumbled quietly.

"Huh?" Alfred asked.

"I'm not crazy. There real...my friends are real, and they aren't dangerous!" Arthur tried explaining, feeling his heart start to race. He wanted to go home! He didn't want to be treated like a mental person! His trembling fists clenched onto the edge of the couch, green eyes rapidly blinking back tears.

"Woah, easy now," Alfred said reassuringly, "Nobody said that you're crazy. Nobody here is crazy in fact. You just need to get back on the right track, but then you'll be out of here eventually."

"I want to get out now!"

"Sorry Artie, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to be here for a little while at least. It's gonna be okay, alright? We'll take really good care of you here."

Arthur didn't respond to the doctor's words, glaring hardly at the wall behind Alfred.

"Aw come on Artie, we really aren't the bad guys here!" Alfred after a full minute of silence. Arthur acted like he didn't hear him. Finally Alfred sighed, standing up and placing a hand on his patient's shoulder.

"Alright, I guess you don't want to talk anymore. Want to go back to the lounge then?"

"No, I hate it there." Arthur finally replied.

"Do you want a little bit of quiet time in your bedroom then?" Alfred suggested.

"Quiet time? I'm not a five year old you stupid git!" Arthur snapped. Alfred blinked in shock at Arthur's sudden change of demeanor, but then burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay. How about relaxation time? We have about an hour and a half until your first group session, and then it'll be dinner after that. I'm allowing you to go back early from our session today since you're still getting settled. Normally though we have one our long sessions. Don't worry, we'll really get to work starting tomorrow."

Arthur grimaced at the thought of sitting in a room with this hyper doctor for an hour each day. Then something else occurred to him.

"Why do I have to go to group therapy? Isn't there an option or something?"

"You're required to go to group sessions Artie. However, we only have then three times a week, so you don't gotta worry about it that much. Now, ready to head to your room? You can take a nap until group time. Don't worry, you'll love group time! It's really fun!"

"Sure, whatever you say...bloody stupid doctors," Arthur replied. He had muttered the last part of his sentence, but Alfred had heard him and chuckled as he led Arthur to his room.

Finally when he was left alone, Arthur sighed to himself as he laid down on his new bed. It wasn't as soft as his real bed, but at least it was a tiny bit comfortable. The room was really quite plain, with tan walls and a brown rug. There was a window, but Arthur had already tried opening it and it wouldn't budge. The glass looked really thick too.

Seamus had packed some decoration for his room, mainly pictures of all of them, but Arthur had ripped them up. They hadn't even brought him a book or anything! Was there some kind of rule that said books weren't allowed or something? If so, then this place was nuts.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door before someone opened it. Arthur recognized her as the nurse who had first escorted him into his room this morning. Her name was Elizaveta or something...

"Arthur, it's time for your group therapy with Dr. Jones. Ready to go?" She asked cheerfully.

"No," Arthur grumbled. She laughed light heartedly.

"Come on now sweetie, it isn't that bad. Now let's get going. The sooner you get this over with, then the sooner it'll be dinner time. After dinner we're going to be putting in a movie for everyone to watch."

Ten minutes later, the Brit found himself sitting in a chair, surrounded by the other people he'd seen in the lounge earlier. All of the chairs were pulled into a circle. Dr. Jones sat to Arthur's left, and the Japanese man sat to his right. Alfred clapped his hands together.

"Alright guys, ready to get started?"

There was a chorus of "yeah's" and also Ivan was clapping enthusiastically, bouncing up and down in his seat childishly.

"Alrighty then! Now everyone, we have a new member in our group. This here is Arthur. I want everyone to treat him nicely since he's a little nervous, okay?"

Arthur felt his face turn beet red while the others all nodded.

"Okay, how about we all introduce ourselves to Arthur? Kiku, why don't you go first?" Alfred suggested, pointing to the Japanese man who sat beside Arthur. The man looked extremely uncomfortable, but managed to look Arthur in the eyes.

"Hello Arthur-san, my name is Kiku. I am here because of my agoraphobia and isolating myself from people." He said softly, shifting uncomfortable. The man next to Arthur, the one who was drawing a cat earlier, then cleared his throat.

"My name is Heracles. I like cats. I am here because my narcolepsy causes violent outbursts." He said simply, looking very at ease with his surroundings. Sitting next to Heracles was a man who Arthur actually didn't remember seeing before. He had dull blue eyes and blonde hair, a cross like pin in his hair.

"I am Lukas, and I'm here because I see things...they think I have schizophrenia, but they're wrong." He said, giving a slight glare towards Alfred's direction. Arthur perked up a little at this. So Lukas could see things too? Maybe he knew Flying Mint Bunny as well. Speaking of which, Arthur saw Flying Mint Bunny floating around in the corner or the room. The creature waved at him, but Arthur was a little too nervous to wave back, due to the fact that Alfred would probably question him.

Next went a man with bright green eyes and chin length blonde hair. He really didn't look that happy to be there. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Vash, and I'm here because apparently people think it's wrong to protect your family members." He said, obviously aggravated.

"Vash, it's illegal to try and shoot people with guns, especially if they haven't done anything wrong." Alfred chided him gently.

"The guy was trying to ask my little sister on a date! She's only thirteen!" Vash argued.

"Alright, alright. We'll discuss this during your next therapy session Vash. Anyway, who's next?" Alfred asked.

"Me, me me!" Ivan shouted excitedly. Before anybody could say anything, he got up from his seat and walked towards Arthur, pulling him into a tight hug. Arthur yelped and tried to fight his way out of the grip, but of course it was nearly impossible. Alfred had to intervene.

"Ivan, you know not to touch people unless you ask first! Now come sit down and introduce yourself." Alfred said sternly. Ivan reluctantly let go and walked back to his seat, feet shuffling. Once he was seated though, the Russian seemed cheerful one again.

"Hello Arthur! My name is Big Guy, and I love Sunflowers!" He sang out cheerfully. Arthur, who was still trying to catch his breath, glared back at him.

"Ahem, anyway, let's move on. Arthur, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"

"No." Arthur replied instantly.

"But that isn't very nice Artie. All of the others introduced themselves to you. Do you really think it's fair not to introduce yourself back?" Alfred asked him. Arthur was beginning to see red.

"Stop talking to me like I'm five," He said through gritted teeth.

"Aw come on Art, group time is about having fun and learnin-"

"I don't like it!" Arthur snapped. "I'm not going to participate! I shouldn't be in such a place! Flying Mint Bunny is my best friend, and you can't punish me for liking him!"

The other patients watched with wide eyes. Kiku looked like he wanted to bolt from the room, Ivan looked like he was about to start crying, Vash rolled his eyes, Lukas had an unemotional expression, and Heracles appeared to be sleeping.

"Arthur, you're not being punished. We're only going to help you. Now listen, if don't want to speak during group time then you don't have to, but you won't earn a gold star for the day." Alfred told him in all serious. Arthur felt his eye twitch.

"Why the bloody hell would I want a gold star?"

"If you earn gold stars then you can have privileges, like getting to work in the garden, or earning telephone calls, or even picking out a movie for everyone to watch." Alfred explained.

"I have eleven gold stars!" Ivan called out cheerfully.

"Only because you're a suck up," Vash grumbled.

"You're just saying that since you only have three gold stars!" Lukas pointed out to Vash.

"Okay guys, quiet down!" Alfred broke up what would have probably turned out into a nasty argument. "The point is, gold stars are good to earn. Now how about we discuss what our favorite foods are?

* * *

Group therapy went by slowly and painfully for Arthur. He spoke a bit during the time, but only so he could possibly get a gold star. Being able to garden sounded like a lovely idea, and he was certainly going to try for it.

Now it was dinner time, and they were being served mashed potatoes, corn, and ham. Metal forks and knives were not allowed here, so Arthur struggled to cut up his ham with a plastic butter knife. He ended up chatting with Lukas, who seemed like an okay guy. He believed in the fae like Arthur did, and he seemed to know a lot about the place.

"They slip drugs into the food here," Lukas was saying to everyone at the table. "It's the only reason why we can't escape. The drugs make us too weak."

"Now you're just making up stories!" Vash said, but looked at his food uneasily. Finally he called out, "Nurse Elizaveta, is it true that you put drugs in our food?"

"What, of course not!" She said, looking very offended. "Lukas, are you making up stories again?"

Needless to say, Lukas got into a very big dispute about food drugging, and he was led away into his room by some orderlies for some 'quiet time'. Arthur also had met some of the other patients who weren't just in his group.

Dr. Roderich Edelstein was the doctor who led the other therapy group. Apparently he and Alfred were the only ones who ran the group therapies. There were a lot of other doctors too though, and each doctor only had about three patients. Apparently Alfred was the doctor of Arthur, Ivan, and a man named Lugwig.

Lugwig was one of the patients that wasn't in Arthur's group. He had a severe case of OCD that affected his life badly though. There was Also Feliciano Vargas, who was good friends with Ludwig. Arthur wasn't actually sure what was wrong with Feliciano, but he was pretty sure that the Italian was the only truly insane one here...besides Ivan. There was also a man named Gilbert, and he was half brothers with Ludwig. He was delusional or something, believing that he was a teutonic knight from Prussia.

There was another ward, but that was on a separate floor so he would never be able to react with whoever the patients up there were.

After dinner they all had to line up and take their medicine apparently. Arthur tried telling them that he didn't have any prescribed to him, but Elizaveta said that Alfred had indeed prescribed medicine for him to take. Two fat white pills and a small cup of water was handed to him.

"I'm not taking them!" He protested, shoving the meds back into Elizaveta's arms.

"Arthur, you must take them!" She insisted. "Don't make me go get Dr. Jones."

He still refused to listen, because honestly, who the hell would willingly take medicine like that? He didn't even know what type of medicine it was! He was quite sane really, so there was no need to get all uptight about it. Apparently nurse Elizaveta didn't think so, and so Alfred was brought into the room.

"I'm not taking them, you can't make me!" He yelled, "You didn't even say that I had to take medicine!"

"Artie it's okay," Alfred tried soothing him. "I was going to talk about it with you tomorrow. It's just a light dose of risperidone. It's going to make you better Artie. I promise I wouldn't make you take it for nothing."

"But I don't need it!" Arthur said desperately. "You're...you're trying to get rid of my friends aren't you? Well no, I won't let you!"

"Arthur, you have to take your medicine," Alfred told him, his voice a little more stern.

Needless to say, Arthur ended up having a slight tantrum. The days events had just finally gotten to him. Tears began spilling down his cheeks as he tried to convince the people around him that he wasn't insane.

It took around twenty minutes of comfort and reassurance to finally convince him to swallow the medicine. Alfred was a little more smarter than he looked though, because he searched Arthur's mouth afterwards to make sure that the pills were swallowed, which unfortunately, they hadn't been.

He felt tired and defeated after he had lost the battle with his doctor. He sniffled and wiped at his tear stained cheeks as both Elizaveta and Alfred praised him for taking his medicine. He only tried to glare while trying to stop crying at the same time, which just made him look more pitiful than angry.

"I think he should get to bed early," He heard Alfred murmur to Elizaveta. "He's had a long day, and he's obviously exhausted. He'll be okay in a few days, once he gets settled in."

Arthur didn't protest as Elizaveta and another nurse both escorted him to his room. After the nurses made sure he was ready for bed and tucked in, they each wishes him good night and closed the door. Arthur heard the click of the lock after the door was shut and closed his eyes.

This place...was like a prison. He was always being watched, and restricted from going anywhere. Nobody trusted him here. Now he was forced to take pills that would only do god knows what to him.

"Arthur, Arthur!" A small happy voice squeaked. Arthur opened his eyes and felt his heart light up at who the voice belonged to.

"F-Flying Mint Bunny?" He whispered.

"Yes Arthur, it's me!" The bunny replied. "Why are you staying in this awful place? Can't we go home? It isn't any fun here."

"I know it's not fun. They're trying to get rid of you Minty, but I won't let them. I swear I won't let them." Arthur promised his friend, before breaking out into a yawn.

"Okay Arthur, I trust you! Go to sleep and have a good dream!" Flying Mint Bunny said, flying down to give a small light kiss on Arthur's nose. He smiled in content and closed his eyes again, hoping to dream about being in his own bed, surrounded by his true friends.

The next morning he was awoken by an orderly, who brought him into a room to shower. It was awkward having the orderly stand right outside of the shower stall (with his back turned thankfully) so he showered quickly. The warm water honestly soothed his nerves a little. He was still incredibly disappointed to awake and remember that he was no longer considered a normal sane person.

After drying and changing into a dark green sweater and another pair of sweatpants, he was then brought to the cafeteria for breakfast. He walked in on a very interesting, and slightly frightening scene.

"I do not want milk, I want vodka!" Ivan was screaming at a nurse, and did not all sound like he had yesterday.  
"Ivan, you know there are no alcoholic beverages allowed. I know you like milk, so please be good and drink it?" The nurse asked him kindly.

"Nyet! I hate you, and I hate this place! I want to go back to Russia!" Ivan demanded angrily, pounding his fist on the table. "Take me home right now!"

There was now a huge dent in the middle of the metal table, which really sort of scared Arthur as he watched from his place in line to get his food. The people who had been eating near him moved away to another tale.

"Ivan, if you don't settle down then you're going to have to have to leave the room." The nurse warned him.

"I am going to cut out your intestines and strangle you with them if you don't give me my vodka!" Ivan roared. The nurse called out for help, so three orderlies came dashing over, one equipped with a needle. When Ivan saw them, his expression turned into panic.

"Nyet, I do not want sleepy time! Nooo!" He yelled, sounding innocent once again. It was too late though, because even though he was thrashing, the orderlies got a better hand on him, and injected him with a sedative. He was then half led/carried back to his room.

Arthur shuddered at the thought of Ivan outside of this mental ward. What if he had killed people before he was sent here? It was a very scary thing to think about. Apparently Ivan turning into such a monster was a normal thing, because already the other patients seemed to have forgotten about what had just happened.

"Ksesese, looks like he's back in the Ivan room again," Gilbert, who was standing behind Arthur, laughed once Ivan had been taken away.

"The Ivan room?" Arthur asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Well technically it's just a solitary confinement room, you know, with padded walls and shit. We call it the Ivan room though, since Ivan always goes there the most. He goes there at least twice a day. I mean seriously, I've been here for three months and I've only been twice!" Gilbert explained. "Seriously! They say it's so you can calm down, but it just makes me even more mad!"

"Oh...that doesn't sound like fun." Arthur said, making a mental note to try avoid getting put in the 'Ivan room'.

"There's only one person who's not put in there, and that's Kiku. One time he was put there, and then he enjoyed the isolation and refused to come out! Isn't that fucking insane?"

The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully, and then Arthur found himself sitting back on the couch where he had sat yesterday. For about an hour, he watched his surroundings with mild interest. Ludwig was hyperventilating because of a dirty stain on one of the armchairs, so nurse Elizaveta was trying to calm him down. Eventually Ivan was let back into the room, and he seemed like his cheerful self again.

Suddenly he felt someone tap his knee, and he looked down to see Flying Mint Bunny. His face lit up in a smile.

"Hello Arthur! Why are you just sitting here? Can't we go home?" The bunny asked sweetly. Arthur looked around. He wanted to reply, but what if nurse Elizaveta noticed him? Then they would call him insane or something. He had to be careful here, or else he would be judged. He tightened his lips and tried to give his friend a pleading look. Flying Mint Bunny frowned.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Minty asked. "Don't you like me?"

Seeing his best friend's sad look, Arthur instantly felt his heart race. "N-no, of course I like you!" He hissed quietly. "I just can't talk to you here!"

"Why not?"

"Because of the stupid bloody doctors here. They'll just think I'm loony or something, and then I'll have to stay here longer." Arthur told the bunny.

"Wow, those doctors sound like meanie heads!" Minty commented.

"I know, but I have a plan. If I just pretend not to know you, then maybe the doctors will think that they've made a mistake and-"

"Ahem," A voice cleared from behind him. Arthur stopped talking and jerked his head around, eyes going wide as he came face to face with Dr. Jones. "Hiya Artie, hows it going? Who were you talking to just now?"

"That's none of your concern," Arthur replied with a scowl.

"Sorry to break it to 'ya, but it kind of is. You see, it sort of looked like you were just talking to thin air. Is there somebody here that I can't see?" Alfred asked light heartedly, but Arthur saw the look in his eyes. The concerned doctor's look.

"...No," Arthur finally answered. "Don't you have anybody else to bother?"

"Well normally I do, but right now it's time for your first official therapy session. Ready to go?" Alfred asked cheerily.

* * *

"So, how are you feeling today? Better?" Alfred asked once they were both seated inside his office again.

"No," Arthur answered bluntly.

"How come? Why don't you explain to me?" The American suggested, folding his hands together to show Arthur that all attention was on him.

"How come?" Arthur repeated. "Because I'm stuck in this bloody mental hospital against my will! Why wouldn't I not feel happy?"

"I guess you have a good point. Okay then, let's start at the beginning. Do you know why you were brought here?" Alfred asked him.

"Because my brothers have something against my friends! Just because they can't see Minty doesn't mean anything! I know Minty exists, and that's what counts!" Arthur answered firmly.

"Why don't you tell me about Minty? Do you see this rabbit often?"

"Every day of course! Minty always checks on me."

"And it doesn't bother you at all? I mean the fact that other people can't see Minty?" Alfred wondered.

"Of course not you twit! Anyone who can't see Minty is just too stupid too!"

"Is Minty here now? Is he in this room?" Alfred questioned him. Arthur's eyes briefly flickered over to the corner of the room, where his rabbit friend was floating patiently and waiting for the therapy session to end. Alfred saw his eyes move and nodded his head in affirmation. "Is Minty talking to you right now?"

"No, Minty is waiting for this ridiculous session to be over." Arthur replied, folding his arms and scowling.

"Well I hate to be a bummer, but it's only been fifteen minutes. We still got forty five minutes to talk. So let me ask you this; Does Minty ever ask you to do things? Things that might be dangerous?"

"What kind of a question is that!? Of course not!" Arthur responded, voice raising a bit.

"Your brother Allister told me that he walked in on you cutting your arm not too long ago. Did Minty tell you to do that?" Alfred asked. Arthur felt his blood turn cold, and his heart speed up.

"...Only because I had evil black devil blood in me! Minty did me a favor! I would have turned evil if I didn't get the blood out!" He defended both himself and his friend.

"Arthur that isn't healthy. There is no such thing as having devil blood inside you. I don't think Minty was right about helping you." Alfred told him gently.

"Your lying!" Arthur spat.

"I wouldn't lie to you Artie, not about something like that. I think maybe Minty needs to give you a break."

"Never! You wont get away with this!" Arthur hissed back at him, trying to give his best glare. "You can keep me locked up here, you can force me to take pills, and to sit in a circle and voice out my feelings. Go ahead and do so. However, Minty wont ever leave me."

"Okay Artie, calm down now. Why don't we talk about something else for now? What kinds of things do you enjoy doing?"

"What business of that is yours?"

"Well sometimes I can find ways to make it so you have something fun to do, since I know it's boring here. Your brother told me you like to read? I can bring you a book if you want."

"...I like gardening too." Arthur muttered just loud enough for his doctor to hear. Alfred's face brightened.

"That's great! Gardening is really good to help with stress, and it also just makes a nice hobby. We have a nice little garden outside. How about we make a deal? If you participate in group and during our one on one sessions, and also take your medicine, then you can garden as a reward. Sound like a plan?" He suggested.

"Fine," Arthur agreed. "But this doesn't mean I'll enjoy it here."

"That's okay, we'll just work slowly and see how this works. If your good for the rest of the day and tomorrow, then you can start going outside to garden on Friday, okay?"

The rest of the session went by without much argument. When it came time for it to end, Alfred escorted his patient back to the lounge, where all of the patients would be doing craft time. As the American watched his patient slowly drag his feet over to take a seat beside Kiku, he smiled sadly.

"Don't worry Artie, I'll make you better," He whispered to himself triumphantly. There would be a long hard road ahead of them, but eventually he would make Arthur understand that Minty wasn't healthy for him. It was for the best after all.

* * *

The halls were the same white ones as they were downstairs. Alfred walked down them silently, carrying a small bag in his hand. Right now he was currently in the second ward, upstairs. He didn't work in this ward, but he made frequent visits, practically daily, for a very good reason. Just as he stopped before a closed door, someone called out to him.

"Bonjour Dr. Jones, your here early."

"Hi Dr. Bonnefoy. I have a break, so I figured that I would come see him early today. Erm...hows he doing?" Alfred replied. He felt his heart sink as the French doctor's expression turned a little solemn.

"I'm afraid Mathieu's having a bad day today. He wont leave his bed, not even after a nurse offered him pancakes. Perhaps if you talk to him then you can convince him to come out?"

"I'll see what I can do," Alfred replied, smiling a little nervously as the other doctor unlocked the door for him. Alfred stepped inside, hesitating for a moment as he saw what was before him. Matthew sat curled up on the bed, face in his hands as he sobbed quietly, clutching onto his stuffed polar bear.

"Hey bro, how are you doing?" Alfred asked, walking closer to his brother. Matthew didn't reply, only holding onto his bear tighter.

"Dr. Bonnefoy told me you're having a bad day. I brought you something, maybe it'll cheer you up! Here, it's a bottle of maple syrup, the real kind! I figures you'd like it." Alfred said as he pulled the small bottle of syrup from the bag he was carrying and set in beside Matthew.

"T-thank...thank y-you," Matthew whispered. Alfred tried to smile, lips trembling, and pulled his brother into his arms.

They both cried quietly together.

_Coming up next: Arthur's numerous escape attempts...or failures! _

**a/n: There...well I hope it wasn't too horrible. I would certainly appreciate some reviews so I can get some feedback. Anyways, it may be a week before the next chapter. I still need to work on my other stories too! Anyway, please tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days passed slowly but successfully. Arthur didn't complain when he had to take his pills. So far they hadn't done anything to affect Flying Mint Bunny, so Arthur was content. During group time he talked without prompt, telling everyone about his teenage punk days, and how his brother's picked on him often when he was young. He figured that telling Dr. Jones about things like that would be considered good things to say during therapy.

Surprisingly, he was also starting to grow a tad bit closer to the other patients in his ward. In reality he didn't care about them that much, but if it looked like he was getting along with them, then maybe it would speed up his time here. His doctor still hadn't given him an estimated time period that he would probably be staying here. All Alfred had said was that it depended upon the patient. Some could take more than a year, while others could take a month or less.

Currently he was attempting to paint Flying Mint Bunny during craft time, which was held every other day. He was only drawing his friend because Alfred had requested him to, so he would have an idea what Arthur's friend looked like. The painting didn't exactly look like his friend, because he couldn't quite get the right shade of green. The ears looked okay, he supposed.

"That is a nice painting Arthur-San," Kiku, who was sitting next to him, complemented.

"Thank you, your painting is lovely as well," Arthur replied with a grin. It turned out that once you got Kiku to open up, he made a good friend. It was obvious that the man did have some problems though. Some days he would be fine and talk openly (and politely) but other times he would hide under his bed and refuse to participate in anything.

"Do you like mine Arthur?" Ivan asked, holding up a piece of paper that was oozing of extreme amounts of yellow and blue.

"Yes Ivan, it looks splendid," Arthur told him, mostly to avoid causing one of Ivan's fits. Earlier today the Russian threw a fit over getting his scarf washed. So far Arthur had never seen the man take it off. The old scarf was covered with food and paint stains, and just dirty in general. No matter what though, he refused to have it taken away. Apparently things like scarves normally weren't allowed due to being a danger to a patient trying to hang themselves, but Dr. Jones had told the nurses that it was comforting for Ivan.

"Feli, stop touching my painting, you're messing it up!" Ludwig snapped from the other end of the table. The German's drawing was being done carefully. So far only a corner of the page was painted, and there was not one tiny smudge or line out of place.

"But Luddie, it's so colorful! I like the colors! I wish I was a color! Veee!" Feliciano sang, chewing on the end of his paintbrush and dipping his fingers into a bottle of red paint. He ended up getting it all over his clothes and one of the nurses scolded him.

"Of Arthur, what an interesting painting!" Nurse Elizaveta exclaimed. "Dr. Jones said you were drawing something for him today, is that what it is?"

"Yes, he wanted to see what Minty looked like. Can you bring this to him after it's done drying?" Arthur asked her.

"Of course," She promised him.

Speaking of Minty, Arthur hadn't seen his flying bunny friend, which was odd. Usually Minty greeted him in the mornings and hung around nearby whenever he left the room. Well, maybe Minty was just busy. He would wait until tonight, because Minty always was there to wish him a good sleep.

However, when the night did arrive Arthur was startled. Minty did arrive, but something was terribly wrong. The bunny was almost faded, the green being replaced by background colors.

"Minty, what's wrong? Why are you fading?" He cried out in horror.

"A-Arthur...I'm almost gone. The medicine is making me go away. Tonight is my last night...I'm dying," The bunny sobbed, wings fluttering slowly.

"Wait, Minty please! Don't die, I need you!" Arthur pleaded. Without answering, the bunny's wings stopped fluttering, and the creature dropped to the ground. As soon as it's body hit the floor, Minty's colors dissolved into the air. Arthur sat in complete shock for a moment, before it came to him. His best friend was gone. Dr. Jones had made Minty disappear by having him take the medicine.

"Minty! MINTY! No!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, lunging off of the bed and heading for the door. He was going to kill Alfred. He was getting out of this accursed building, and he was going far away so Minty would return.

Arthur screamed and pounded his fists against the door after discovering that it was locked, which really shouldn't have surprised him. He went towards the window them, and punched it as hard as he could, but the glass was so thick that it did nothing except probably bruise his knuckles. He heard voices outside his door, and a key jiggling into the lock, and decided to bolt out the door as soon as it opened, not thinking clearly through his rage.

As soon as the door did open he ran straight out, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms that belonged to an orderly. Another orderly also restrained him from behind as he screamed and kicked and tried to bite.

"Arthur, sweetie what's wrong?" He vaguely heard nurse Elizaveta, who must have been there also, ask through his screaming and crying.

"I want to go home! You all killed Minty! GET ME OUT!" He screamed, still struggling violently. The orderlies held onto him easily, thanks to them being so strong.

"I'm calling Dr. Jones," He heard Elizaveta said. "Bring him back to bed and keep him there for a few minutes."

"You're all mean evil bastards!" Arthur shouted as he was practically carried back into his room and forced to lie down, hearing people tell him to calm down and breath. "I hate it here!"

Eventually he laid still and proceeded to sob into his pillow. The orderlies backed off a little, but still stayed close by. Around ten minutes later he could hear feet walking briskly towards his room. Dr. Jones walked in, looking like he'd dressed in a hurry. He was followed by Elizaveta.

"Artie, tell me what's wrong," The doctor requested as he came towards the bed and knelt beside it.

"Minty...gone..." Arthur moaned. "Your fault..."

"You can't see Minty anymore?" Alfred asked. "It's okay Arthur, this is good. It means you're getting better."

"N-no," Arthur whimpered. "Let me go home...I need Minty..."

"Minty isn't healthy for you Artie. This is a good step in the right direction. I know it doesn't feel good right now, but you'll feel better with time."

"No I won't. You're a murderer!" Arthur shouted, suddenly feeling his previous energy as he sat up and tried to lunge at the doctor. Unfortunately he was stopped by both Alfred and one of the orderlies, forced back onto the bed.

"Arthur honey, calm down!" Elizaveta tried soothing him.

"Arthur, I think you need some sleep, okay?" Dr. Jones told him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alfred quickly take a needle out of his doctor's coat pocket, and he struggled more.

"Don't put that in me! Let me go!" He shouted, but the staff got the better hand over him. He felt a small prick in his thigh and the effects of the sedative worked almost instantly, his limbs feeling heavy and his eyes drooping.

"You'll be okay Arthur, I promise." He heard Alfred say, and the doctor ran his hand soothingly through his hair before his eyes completely shut. With that, he drifted into a dreamless sleep, ashamed that he could be so easily overpowered by the people surrounding him.

…^J^...

"Arthur, you can't just flat out refuse to come out of your room. At this rate you're being worse than Kiku!" Alfred exclaimed, running a hand through his own hair in exasperation. Arthur didn't reply, staring numbly at the wall ahead of him. It had been two days since Arthur had last saw Minty, and so far he'd yet to come out of his room. He heard Alfred sigh.

"Look Art, can't you at least eat something for me? It's not healthy to go without food. Will you eat some toast if we get you some?"

Again, Arthur was unresponsive. He was sitting cross legged on the wrinkled sheets of his bed, green eyes dulled with exhaustion and depression. Alfred's frown deepened; He was beginning to wonder if putting Arthur on the medication so soon was a good idea. Then again, he should have expected this reaction. Now that Flying Mint Bunny was gone, Arthur would be better with coming to terms that the bunny was not real in the first place.

"You have to talk to me Arthur. I'm only trying to help you, just like everyone else here," Alfred tried again. Suddenly an idea crossed his mind, and he grinned. "I bet you'd feel better with a change of scenery. I'm going to have Elizaveta make us some lunch, and then we're going to eat outside. Come on, follow me."

With that, Alfred gently but firmly took Arthur's hand and led him to the doorway. Arthur didn't put up a struggle, but he didn't look happy or excited to be going outside either. He just looked...unemotional.

The garden was actually a very beautiful place. Many different types of flowers were planted there, along with a few other types of plants. There were a couple of benches and picnic tables there, and also a water fountain in the center of the area. Alfred was glad he had made the choice to do this, because now Arthur was unconsciously nibbling on his egg salad sandwich that Elizaveta had made.

The outdoors certainly did make Arthur feel a bit more relaxed. He had begun to realize just how hungry he was, so he actually ate a little while admiring the flowers, and breathing in their deep and relaxing scent.

"The roses over there were just recently planted," Alfred spoke, pointing over towards the direction Arthur was looking in. "The garden has actually expanded quite a lot in the past year. It used to be just a small section of tulips. One of our nurses, Marie, also works in a greenhouse though, so she brought a lot of these flowers over."

Arthur nodded, which made Alfred brighten. That was the first response he'd gotten in the past two days. Meanwhile, Arthur was in deep thought. Though his dear Minty was dead for the time being, the bunny's spirit was still strong in Arthur's heart. He began to think about what Minty would want him to do. First off, he was sure that Minty wouldn't want him living his life forever sulking. No, Minty would want him to make a plan. Minty would want him to escape from the wicked place, and go back to London where he belonged.

"You listen up, Jones," He said sternly, causing the doctor to jump a little in surprise at him speaking.

"What is it Artie? I'm listening." The doctor replied. Arthur turned around on the bench fully to face the American, glaring at him darkly.

"I don't like you. In fact, I despise you." He told him, poking Alfred in the chest once as he said this. "However, I won't let your evil actions break my spirit. I am going to get out of here one way or another. Let's get a fact straight; nobody, absolutely nobody tries to run Arthur Kirkland's life! You be prepared for my escape, because it's coming quick! Now I'm going inside!"

Alfred's mouth dropped open, and he blinked in shock as his patient held his head up high and stood up from his seat and began walking away towards the doors. Then, the doctor grinned widely.

"Okay Artie, we'll see what you've got." He said to himself, before standing to go and let Arthur back indoors.

* * *

**24 Hours Later:**

Arthur was sitting in the lounge, arms folded and feet tapping impatiently. He bit his lip nervously, hoping that this would work. Last night he'd spend a good part of the time awake, devising the perfect plan to escape. In his mind, this new plan would have to work.

In order to get out of the room, all nurses, doctors, and orderlies held a keycard that opened the door. Without the keycard, the large metal doors would stay as tight and locked as ever. But, with a keycard, basically anyone would be able to get out. Even a patient.

All he had to do was obtain a keycard. Easy, right? Well to Arthur, it had seemed a bit complicated at first, until he understood what he needed to do. Cause a diversion! Something to get both the nurses and the orderlies out of his way. While they were distracted, he could then easily sneak a keycard out of one of their pockets and then make a break for it!

And now time for the start of his plan...

Earlier at breakfast Arthur had smuggled a tiny box of grape jelly from the table. He had been hiding it in his sleeve for around an hour. Now that most everyone was in the lounge though, he could begin. Standing up, Arthur then walked over to where Ludwig and Feliciano were sitting, which was by the armchairs next to the windows.

"Hello Ludwig, Feli. How are you both?" Arthur asked politely.

"Not too bad I suppose," Answered Ludwig with a hum. He was reading a book written in German, reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose.

"I'm good! Veeee!" Feliciano replied as well. "I like the kittens...the kittens are fun!"

Arthur briefly wondered what the hell Feliciano was talking about, but then shook the thought away. He slowly reached into his sleeve, taking out the box of jelly. He opened the seal, and then dipped his fingers into it, taking out a glob of the dark purple substance.

"What are you-?" Ludwig started to ask, but his eyes widened once he saw what the Brit was doing. Arthur smeared the jelly onto the couch, creating a rather large stain on the arm of the chair that Ludwig sat in. The German's pupils grew small, and he instantly started sweating.

"We...we have to get the stain off! Mein gott, we must get rid of it!" Ludwig said, instantly using his bare hands to try and get the jelly off. However, all he did was smear it into the couch more, which caused the German to freak out even more.

"NEIN! THE STAIN! GET IT OFF!" The German shrieked, collapsing the the floor much like a toddler would do when having a fit. Seeing Ludwig upset then made Feliciano scared, so he began to bawl loudly and attempt to cling onto the German.

"We need some help over here!" Arthur heard Elizaveta call, and he smirked when the two orderlies near the door came with her, over to the scene with Ludwig and Feliciano. He stepped back once they came over, listening to the Hungarian nurse try and sooth both of the patients. The orderlies were also both taking Feliciano away from Ludwig, since his clinging was not helping the German at all. Arthur then saw exactly what he was looking for.

Elizaveta was crouched over as she talked to Ludwig, and sticking out of her pocket was none other than the keycard. Arthur leaned towards her ever so slowly..slowly...slowly...and reached for it. Heart beating fast, he swiped the card quickly, and was actually surprised to see it in his hand. The white card looked absolutely beautiful, and it was his ticket out of this hell!

Quickly glancing at the preoccupied staff, he then made a break for it, sprinting across the room. He was sweating, shaking with adrenaline. In just a few seconds he would be out of there doors...he would be on his way to freedom...to flying mint bunny!

Once he approached the two large doors, he drew out the keycard in front of him, slowly extending it outwards, towards the slot in which you were supposed to scan the card with. Then, just as he was a millimeter away from opening the door...a hand snatched his wrist.

Oh no...

He slowly turned around, and got a big surprise. It wasn't an orderly, or even a nurse. No, it was someone much worse. Dr. Jones stood behind him, still holding on tightly to his wrist. Then, with his other hand, the doctor reached up and gently tugged the card out of his hand.

"That's a no-no," He said, voice amused, and swatted Arthur's hand lightly as he spoke, before pocketing the keycard. Arthur's mouth was hanging open in shock, his mind drawn at a blank. What the hell...how had Alfred even seen him? Last time he checked, the doctor hadn't even been in the room!

"W-what...how...?" He tried to find words, eyes still wide. Alfred chuckled at Arthur's stunned face, and then patted his head.

"You'll have to do better than that Artie," Alfred told him. "Now I think you should think about what you've done. I mean seriously, it wasn't a very nice thing to do to Ludwig. You lose a gold star for that one."

"Dammit!" Arthur cursed. "You...you're...I hate you!"

"I'm afraid to say that the feeling isn't mutual. I think you're a pretty cool guy Artie." Alfred said, boring his usual dumb smile. Arthur growled.

"I'm going to get out of here! Just you wait!"

"Okay Artie, whatever you say."

* * *

**Another 24 hours later:**

He was in the garden this time. After participating in group time, he had convinced Alfred to allow him in the gardens, so he he was, weeding the rose section. He was mostly left alone thankfully, that being due to the large brick walls that surrounded the place. There were two nurses who were outside, but they were chatting with each other over near the doors.

"Stupid nurses...not giving me any garden tools. How the hell am I supposed to dig a hole for the plant while only using a plastic shovel?" He grumbled to himself, throwing the shovel away. It hit the brick wall with a thud. Suddenly an idea came to Arthur.

"I've got it now! I can just dig my way out!" He whispered to himself enthusiastically.

The next week went by slowly but hopefully for Arthur. Each time he was allowed into the gardens, whenever the nurses had their backs turned he would continue slowly making a hole, behind a bush so that nobody would find it. Each day the hole grew bigger, and Arthur knew that he was very close to making his way out. After all, the brick wall could go under ground that much, right?

One day, Arthur decided that today he would dig extra hard to hopefully make a breakthrough and escape before lunch time. However, when he reached the gardens he was in for quite a big shock.

The hole in which he had devoted all his free time to making, was completely filled back up, the dirt packed back in solidly and neatly.

"W-What...how...?" Arthur stuttered.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you Artie?" Dr. Jones said from behind him. Turning around, Arthur looked at his doctor dumbly, and Alfred grinned.

"Seriously dude, do you really think you're the only one that's tried that? Besides, I hate to break it to 'ya, but if you'd have dug about three inches deeper, then you would have discovered that the area under the brick wall is cement. So yeah...that's really not an effective way to escape."

Arthur was silent for a moment, processing the information.

"You...I...this...You're a bloody twit!" He finally screamed, fists curling into balls.

"I know Artie, you've told me that ten times already today. By the way, you lose another gold star for trying to escape. Your star supply is really running low...two more and then it'll be no dessert." Alfred informed him.

"I don't give a rat's ass about your stupid gold stars! Go shoot yourself!" Arthur snarled, stomping back inside angrily.

It looked like he would have to go back to the drawing board.

* * *

Arthur was starting to think that it was impossible to escape this place. Ever since the failed digging plan, he has tried three more escape plans, all which had failed. Not only was he running out of ideas, but out of hope as well. What if he really never did make it out of here? It was also starting to get sort of lonely, since he didn't have Flying Mint Bunny around to talk to. Alfred was really the only person he would have full length conversations with, but that was only because he was required too.

"Okay now, who wants to talk about their paintings first?" Alfred asked one day during group therapy. Yesterday they'd all had free painting time, and were required to bring them to group therapy today to discuss them.

"I drew my rifle," Vash said, holding up a surprisingly accurate picture of the gun for all of them to see.

"Wow Vash, good job," Alfred complimented. "I really like the colors you used. Who's next? How about you Kiku?"

The Japanese man hesitantly held up a picture of what looked like a small brown puffy dog.

"Dude that's awesome! Is that a dog?" Alfred asked.

"...Yes, his name is Pochi. He is being looked after by my neighbor during my stay here." Kiku answered, before bringing the picture back to his chest.

"Nice job dude! Hmmm, who should go next...how about you Arthur?"

The Brit silently held out his drawing for the others to see. Alfred leaned in closer to look and his eyes widened a fraction. "Um...wow. Er...what exactly is it?" He asked.

"This is a picture of me and flying mint bunny, blowing up this accursed building." Arthur answered in a rather bored tone.

"Oh...well then, haha," Alfred laughed rather nervously. "That's certainly original. Um, mind if I hold onto that painting for a while Artie?"

"Whatever," Arthur answered, passing the picture to his doctor.

* * *

"I just don't know Dr. Yao...it seems no matter how hard I try, I just despises the place. You know yesterday I caught him attempting to unscrew a vent in order to escape!" Alfred ranted good naturdely to another doctor, Wang Yao.

"You just have to convince him that he doesn't need a flying rabbit to socialize with aru." The Chinese doctor responded, not looking up from his medical book.

"I know that dude, but it's hard! This morning he showed me a painting of him and that bunny blowing up this place! I put the picture in his file, since I think it's him expressing his emotions about his hate for this place. That bunny needs to go away from his thoughts. Seriously, it makes him do bad things! Even though Artie isn't seeing the bunny anymore, he's still being influenced by it."

"I really don't know what to tell you. I guess just earn his trust and convince him that the rabbit is evil." Yao told him.

"If only it were that easy..." Alfred muttered.

**a/n: Hey guys, sorry this took so long! Also, sorry that I haven't yet updated my other stories. You see, I have this awful sickness called writer's block. NEVER FEAR though, I am slowly getting past it. I just also have a lot of real life stuff going on, so 'ya gotta believe me that I will update eventually. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with me!**


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